Many diaphragm valves utilize pneumatic actuation to control whether the valve is opened or closed. A typical actuator contains one or more pistons that are coupled to a valve diaphragm to move the diaphragm against a valve seat to close the valve. Valves can be normally closed or normally opened. In a normally closed valve, a spring biases the piston and thus the diaphragm against the valve seat to maintain it closed. To open the valve, air pressure is fed into the actuator and acts on the piston face(s) such as to move the piston against the spring force. As the actuator piston moves, it disengages the diaphragm from the valve seat thereby opening the valve to flow. In prior art actuators, the piston is provided with additional travel distance to ensure that the actuator, and valve, is fully open. When evaluating a valve assembly for maximizing valve cycle life, a common failure occurs in the actuator. As such, it is desirable to provide an actuator that maximizes the cycle life of the valve assembly.